Evaluation of Health-Related Quality of Life among Patients with Cervical Cancer in Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cervical cancer patients is important in order to design the interventions for improving patient outcomes. Reports of HRQOL among cervical cancer patients in Indonesia are limited. Moreover, measurement using EQ-5D-3L is to our best knowledge has hitherto not been performed. This study aimed to examine the HRQOL of cervical cancer patients in Indonesia using EQ- 5D-3L.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing cervical cancer patients using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. Percentages of patients who reported having problems in each dimension of EQ-5D as well as EQ-5D index score (utility) were calculated.

RESULTS

Our findings indicated that the most frequent reported problems were pain/discomfort (67.8%) followed by anxiety/depression (57.5%). The mean of EQ-5D VAS was 75.8 (SD=17.0). The mean (SD) utility scores were 0.85 (0.19), 0.76 (0.20), 0.71 (0.21), and 0.77 (0.13) for cervical cancer patients in stage I, II, III, and IV, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Cervical cancer significantly affects patient HRQOL. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of life of cervical cancer patients especially in terms of pain /discomfort and anxiety/depression reduction.

Knowledge, Perception, and Acceptance of HPV Vaccination and Screening for Cervical Cancer among Women in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia

Objective:

To determine knowledge, perception, and acceptance related to cervical cancer, HPV vaccination and screening for cervical cancer among Indonesian women, particularly in Yogyakarta province.

Methods:

A convenience sample of 392 women consists of 192 young women, 100 mothers of girls aged 12 – 15 years, and 100 adult women in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia was participated in this study. A self-administered paper-based questionnaire was used to determine demographics characteristics of respondents, as well as their knowledge – perception – acceptance related to cervical cancer, HPV vaccination, and screening for cervical cancer. Data collection were conducted during December 2013 to March 2014. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze description of demographics characteristics, knowledge, perception, and acceptance; while crosstab analysis using Chi-Square was used to analyze the relationship between demographics characteristics versus knowledge, perception, and acceptance.

Results:

This study found that knowledge and perception regarding cervical cancer, HPV vaccination, and screening for cervical cancer among women in Indonesia, particularly in Yogyakarta Province were still insufficient, however the acceptance was good. Among female young women, 64% had good knowledge, 62% had positive perception of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, and 92% tended to accept HPV vaccination. Among mothers of girls aged 12 – 15 years, 44% had good knowledge, 46% had positive perception of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, and 91% tended to accept HPV vaccination for their daughters. Among adult women, 68% had good knowledge, 57% had positive perception of cervical cancer and screening for cervical cancer, and 90% tended to accept cervical cancer screening. In general, demographics characteristics of having experience and exposure to information had significant relationship with knowledge, perception, and acceptance of HPV vaccination and screening for cervical cancer.

Conclusions:

Either knowledge or perception of cervical cancer and strategies toward it among Indonesian women particularly in Yogyakarta province were still unsatisfied. Efforts should be improved for supporting cervical cancer prevention and control in Indonesia through such as education on cervical cancer disease and strategies toward it.

Burden of Cancers Related to Smoking among the Indonesian Population: Premature Mortality Costs and Years of Potential Life Lost

BACKGROUND

As smoking is the leading preventable cause of multiple diseases and premature cancer deaths, estimating the burden of cancer attributable to smoking has become the standard in documenting the adverse impact of smoking. In Indonesia, there is a dearth of studies assessing the economic costs of cancers related to smoking. This study aimed to estimate indirect mortality costs of premature cancer deaths and years of potential life lost (YPLL) attributable to smoking among the Indonesian population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prevalence based method was employed. Using national data, we estimated smoking-attributable cancer mortality in 2013. Premature mortality costs and YPLL were estimated by calculating number of cancer deaths, life expectancy, annual income, and workforce participation rate. A human capital approach was used to calculate the present value of lifetime earnings (PVLE). A discount rate of 3% was applied.

RESULTS

The study estimated that smoking attributable cancer mortality was 74,440 (30.6% of total cancer deaths), comprised of 95% deaths in men and 5% in women. Cancers attributed to smoking were responsible for 1,207,845 YPLL. Cancer mortality costs caused by smoking accounted for USD 1,309 million in 2013. Among all cancers, lung cancer is the leading cause of death and economic burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Cancers related to smoking pose an enormous economic burden in Indonesia. Therefore, tobacco control efforts need to be prioritized in order to prevent more losses to the nation. The data of this study are important for advocating national tobacco control policy.

A Comparison of EQ-5D-3L Index Scores Using Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, and UK Value Sets in Indonesian Cervical Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVES

To gain insight into the most suitable foreign value set among Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, and UK value sets for calculating the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire index score (utility) among patients with cervical cancer in Indonesia.

METHODS

Data from 87 patients with cervical cancer recruited from a referral hospital in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, from an earlier study of health-related quality of life were used in this study. The differences among the utility scores derived from the four value sets were determined using the Friedman test. Performance of the psychometric properties of the four value sets versus visual analogue scale (VAS) was assessed. Intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman plots were used to test the agreement among the utility scores. Spearman ρ correlation coefficients were used to assess convergent validity between utility scores and patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. With respect to known-group validity, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to examine the differences in utility according to the stages of cancer.

RESULTS

There was significant difference among utility scores derived from the four value sets, among which the Malaysian value set yielded higher utility than the other three value sets. Utility obtained from the Malaysian value set had more agreements with VAS than the other value sets versus VAS (intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman plot tests results). As for the validity, the four value sets showed equivalent psychometric properties as those that resulted from convergent and known-group validity tests.

CONCLUSIONS

In the absence of an Indonesian value set, the Malaysian value set was more preferable to be used compared with the other value sets. Further studies on the development of an Indonesian value set need to be conducted.

Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence in People with Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Nonadherence to medications is very common in people with schizophrenia. Numerous methods have been implemented to improve medication adherence. The study aimed to determine what interventions have been used and to assess the effectiveness of these in improving medication adherence in people with schizophrenia. Two electronic databases (PubMed and Science Direct) and a manual search were used to locate RCT studies that examined interventions in medication adherence for schizophrenia, published between 2011 and 2022. The search was conducted using the terms (schizophrenia OR schizophrenic) AND (interventions OR adherence therapy) AND (medication adherence OR medication compliance). Sixteen studies were included, and relevant data were extracted and selected. Sixteen studies used interventions that involve family, health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and pharmacists), SMS, and smart electronic reminders. Medication adherence was measured using medication refill records from hospital dispensing records or claim databases, electronic devices, plasma blood concentration, and participant self-reporting. Thirteen out of 15 studies showed significant improvements in adherence compared to routine care. The other three studies did not result in improved medication adherence. Interventions with diverse strategies delivered to individuals with schizophrenia showed the potential to reduce medication non-adherence in people with schizophrenia so that they can be utilized as an alternative to support treatment in people with schizophrenia in addition to antipsychotic medication. In future research strategies, it will be necessary to identify the main problems regarding nonadherence in people with schizophrenia individually and also identify the patient's perception of medication, illness, and behavior when taking medication in order to determine the next intervention that will be appropriate based on the patient's needs to improve adherence.

Knowledge, empathy, and willingness to counsel patients with HIV among Indonesian pharmacists: a national survey of stigma

This study aimed to assess the level of HIV treatment knowledge, empathy, and HIV stigma of pharmacy students and pharmacists working with patients as well as potential factors associated with stigma. This survey included 250 hospital pharmacists within 33 provinces and 1013 final-year pharmacy students from Java, the most populated island in Indonesia. The data were collected via Qualtrics® and distributed by WhatsApp. The mean age of the participants was (Mean ± SD) 24.68 ± 5.30 years, and 80.0% were female. The mean knowledge score of students and pharmacists were 14.14 ± 2.01 and 15.39 ± 1.87, respectively, out of the maximum score of 21. The mean empathy score of students and pharmacists was 72.06 ± 5.39 and 77.40 ± 1.35, respectively out of the maximum score of 105. The mean stigma score of students and pharmacists was 21.02 ± 4.65 and 20.66 ± 4.41, respectively, out of a maximum score of 48. Regression analysis showed that knowledge, empathy, and willingness to counsel patients were negatively associated with stigma. Working with patients was positively associated with stigma. A multi-level intervention including education may reduce stigma and strengthen the role of pharmacists in caring for patients.

Health Care Cost of Noncommunicable Diseases Related to Smoking in Indonesia, 2015

This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence and treatment cost of noncommunicable diseases attributed to tobacco in the Indonesian population in 2015. An epidemiological study was performed. Using the national universal coverage database, we calculated the morbidity and treatment cost of 19 diseases. Proportion of smoking-attributed diseases and treatment costs because of smoking were calculated using smoking-attributable fraction. The study revealed that the morbidity of smoking-related diseases accounted for 991 331 cases, about 21.6% of total cases of chronic diseases in Indonesia. The highest incidences of disease were hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and ischemic heart disease. The treatment cost of smoking in Indonesia was conservatively estimated to be at least US$2177 million, approximately 2.5% of the 2015 gross domestic product. A majority of the cost was largely concentrated in the male population (US$2164 million). Treatment costs of hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and ischemic heart disease had the highest cost burden. This study's findings provide scientific evidence about the economic burden of smoking, particularly the health care expenditure covered by the government. This study's evidence is important for informing national public health policy to advocate the health promotion and prevention program.

Effectiveness of tobacco education for pharmacy students in Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Smoking remains the major preventable cause of death worldwide, especially cancer-related death. Evidence clearly indicates that tobacco-related morbidity and mortality is reduced by smoking cessation. Pharmacists are well-positioned to provide tobacco cessation services an involvement of pharmacists in smoking cessation is encouraged by several organizations. While Indonesia's prevalence of smoking is in the first rank in Asian countries, none of the pharmacy schools in Indonesia are currently offering tobacco-related courses in their existing curricula at present. Our study aimed to develop and to evaluate the effectiveness of tobacco education (TE) for pharmacy students in Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A 6-hour TE was developed and evaluated using pre-test/post-test with control group design. A total of 137 fifth-year pharmacy students at Gadjah Mada University (GMU), Yogyakarta, were chosen as an intervention group while a total of 105 fifth-year students of Islamic University of Indonesia, (UII) served as the control group. Knowledge, perceived-role, self-efficacy, and ability to perform counseling using the 5A's framework were evaluated.

RESULTS

A significant improvement (P < 0.001) in knowledge, perceived-role, and self-efficacy was found in the intervention group but not in the control group. In addition, we revealed that 89.7% of the intervention group were able to perform counseling using 5A's.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed TE significantly improved student knowledge, perceived-rolse, self-efficacy, and created an ability to perform cessation counseling. Integration of TE education in curricula of Indonesian pharmacy schools nation-wide should be encouraged.

Incidence and Mortality of Cancers Related to Secondhand Smoking in Southeast Asia Countries

Background: Secondhand smoke has been a big problem for human being worldwide as it is well-established risk factors for cancers. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bear high burden of cancers since the high prevalence of secondhand smoke. The objective of this study is to estimate the burden of cancer attributable to secondhand smoking in ASEAN. Methods: This research was using descriptive epidemiological incidence and prevalence-based research design, with cancers incidence and mortality data gained from GLOBOCAN 2012. Secondhand smoke attributable fractions (SAFs) of six cancers (lung, bladder, colorectal, stomach, pancreas and larynx) were estimated and burden of cancers caused by secondhand smoking in ASEAN were calculated in term of incidence and mortality. Results: Secondhand smoking estimated for 453,562 cancer cases and 323,284 of total cancer mortality in 2012. The number of incidence and death of lung cancer attributable to secondhand smoking show the highest number compared with other type of cancers. Furthermore, we found that the number of cancer cases and cancer deaths attributable to secondhand smoking varied by each countries due to differences in size of population, various background risk of the cancer, and prevalence of secondhand smoking in each country. Conclusion: Secondhand smoking has been a risk factor for about two-fifth of cancer incidence and mortality in ASEAN. Therefore, ASEAN member countries are strongly encouraged to put in place stronger tobacco control policies and to strengthen the existing tobacco control measure in order to decrease the number of secondhand smokers and more effectively control cancers.

Estimating the Burden of Cancers Attributable to Smoking Using Disability Adjusted Life Years in Indonesia

Tobacco use is a well-established risk factor for many types of cancers. Recent data on selected cancer incidence and mortality related to smoking in the Indonesian population are provided in this study. Morbidity and mortality data were derived from GLOBOCAN 2012 and the population attributable fraction (PAF) was estimated using the standard methodology developed by the World Health Organization. Using these data, we calculated disability adjusted life year (DALY) values for smoking-related cancer. The DALY was estimated by summation of the years lived with disability (YLD) and years life lost due to premature death (YLL). The cancer cases related to smoking in Indonesia numbered 45,132, accounting for 35,580 cancer deaths. The morbidity and mortality of lung cancer can be considered as the highest priority in both men and women. Furthermore the greatest YLD due to smoking in Indonesian men and women were from pancreas and lung cancers. For YLL among men, the highest years lost were from lung and liver cancers. On the other hand, among women lung oral cavity and lip were most important. Based on the DALY indicator, burden priorities for Indonesian men were lung cancer (298,980), liver cancer (60,367), and nasopharynx (46,185), while among Indonesian women they were lung cancer (34,119), cervix uteri (9,213) and pancreas cancer (5,433). In total, Indonesian burden of cancers attributed to smoking was 638,682 DALY. This study provides evidence about the burden of cancers caused by smoking as a rational basis for initiating national tobacco control policies in Indonesia.

Estimating Premature Mortality Cost of Cancers Attributable to Obesity in Indonesia

Obesity is one of the risk factor of non-communicable diseases, one of them is cancer. It may lead to the escalation of mortality. Indonesia is the top 10 country with the highest prevalence of cancer burden due to obesity. The chance of cancer caused by obesity is estimated epidemiologic descriptive and prevalence-based estimation with obesity attributable cancer mortality and Premature Mortality Cost as indicators. Obesity-related cancer mortality is calculated by multiplying Obesity Attributable Fractions (OAFs) rate by cancer death rate, which OAFs rate obtained by calculating obesity prevalence data and relative risk of each disease. Premature Mortality Cost was calculated by multiplying obesity-related cancer mortality, life expectancy, and Indonesian average income. The highest total mortality’s rate for obesity-related cancer and overweight-related cancer are colon cancer (929 deaths), ovarian cancer (599 deaths), and pancreatic cancer (190 deaths). The highest value of Premature Mortality Cost are IDR 61,118 million for ovarian cancer, IDR 56,651 million for colon cancer, and IDR 15,472 million for pancreatic cancer. The estimation of cancer burden due to obesity shall be done to help the government determines the health programs and decrease the number of cancer burden due to obesity in Indonesia.

National Burden of Cancers Attributable to Secondhand Smoking in Indonesia

Background: The high prevalence of smokers in Indonesia is also increase the number of people as secondhand smokers. Secondhand smoke causes many health problems, including cancer. Thus, Indonesia will bear large number cancer burden of disease, but research on cancer related to secondhand smoking in Indonesia still does not exist. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the number of secondhand smoke attributable fractions (SAFs) of six cancers (lung, bladder, colorectal, stomach, pancreas and larynx) and burden of cancer caused by secondhand smoking in Indonesia using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) indicator. Material and Methods: This research was using descriptive epidemiological prevalence-based research design, with cancers prevalence data gained from Indonesian health assurance system database in 2016. The SAFs is calculated by combining both data of secondhand smoking prevalence and relative risk and the DALY indicator is calculated as the sum of years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL) and the equivalent healthy years lost due to disability (YLD). Results: Based on SAFs proportion, the highest SAFs among men were in pancreas cancer (80.20%), stomach cancer (79.54%) and laryngeal cancer (69.61%), whereas in women, pancreas cancer (78.95%), stomach cancer (78.26%) and bladder cancer (63.30%). Meanwhile, burden priorities for Indonesian men and woman were lung cancer (110,491), colorectal (68,131), and bladder cancer (39,140). Conclusions: In total, DALYs 6 cancer diseases due to secondhand smoke analyzed in this study were 283,360 DALYs. Thus, the results of the research can be used as a basis for further policies making on national cigarette prevention and control in Indonesia.

Direct and Indirect Cost of Obesity: A Systematic Review

Obesity is a predictor for various diseases, especially for non-communicable diseases. Obesity impacts large economic burden for patient, healthcare system and the government. This study aims to review the economic impact of obesity worldwide, in terms of direct and indirect costs component of obesity. A systematic review was performed on PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases during the period 2008-2018. A combination key terms such as “obesity”, “overweight and obesity”, “weight excess”, “economic burden”, “financial burden”, “cost”, “cost of illness”, “direct cost”, “healthcare cost”, “indirect cost”, “productivity loss cost”, and “adult” were used for the search. Relevant original articles published in English and reported both direct and indirect cost of obesity were included in the study. A total of 61 studies were retrieved, then 8 studies were finally selected that met all eligibility criteria which reported both direct and indirect cost of obesity in developing and developed countries. Almost all of studies reported that indirect costs have more proportion than direct costs. The economic burden of obesity was estimated to 0.13-0.22% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 1.5-5.6% of health expenditures. Our review indicated that the direct and indirect cost of obesity has a significant impact to healthcare system and the country. Some health programs and policies are required and should be implemented as soon as possible to reduce the economic impact of obesity.

Cancer Attributable to Tobacco Smoking in Member Countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Year 2018

South East Asia is one of the world's largest tobacco epidemic regions which tobacco smoking is known increase the risk of various diseases, including cancer. As data from GLOBOCAN 2018 has had released on September 2018, the aim of this study are to calculate the estimated burden of several types of cancer attributable to tobacco smoking in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2018 and compare it with established result data in 2012. So it can be highlight what has been achieved and what it needs to be addressed by member countries of ASEAN to strengthen cancer prevention against tobacco smoking. This study was using descriptive epidemiological incidence and prevalence-based research design to estimate the burden of 14 types of cancer attributable to tobacco smoking in member countries of ASEAN, in term of incidence and mortality. The cancer incidence and mortality data gained from GLOBOCAN 2018. According to the estimation, tobacco smoking was responsible for 121,849 new cancer cases in 2018 (106,858 male and 14,991 female cases) in ASEAN 2018. Our findings are mostly lower than previous study in 2012, both for cancer incidence and mortality in male and female. It seems more ASEAN member states are adopting effective policies in the MPOWER suite of interventions such as raising taxes on tobacco, establishing smoke-free areas and implementing graphic health warnings in decreasing number of tobacco smoking. Therefore, ASEAN member countries are strongly encouraged to strengthen the existing tobacco control measure in order to effectively gain a significant decline of tobacco smoking related cancer in the future.

Exploring of Determinants Factors of Anti-Diabetic Medication Adherence in Several Regions of Asia - A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The determinants of medication adherence in people with diabetes may differ between populations of an area due to social environment, cultural beliefs, socioeconomic conditions, education, and many other factors differences.

OBJECTIVE

Therefore, this study aims to explore, identify and classify the determinants of medication adherence in several Asian regions.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted to gain insight into the determinants of medication adherence. Seven relevant databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Wiley, dan Taylor and Francis) and hand searching methods were conducted from January 2011 to December 2020. Keywords were compiled based on the PICO method. The selection process used the PRISMA guidelines based on inclusion, and the quality was assessed using Crowe's critical assessment tool. Textual summaries and a conceptual framework model of medication adherence were proposed to aid in the understanding of the factors influencing medication adherence.

RESULTS

Twenty-six articles from countries in several Asian regions were further analyzed. Most studies on type 2 diabetes patients in India used the MMAS-8 scale, and cross-sectional study is the most frequently used research design. The medication adherence rate among diabetic patients was low to moderate. Fifty-one specific factors identified were further categorized into twenty-three subdomains and six domains. Furthermore, the determinants were classified into four categories: inconsistent factors, positively related factors, negatively related factors, and non-associated factors. In most studies, patient-related factors dominate the association with medication adherence. This domain relates to patient-specific demographics, physiological feelings, knowledge, perceptions and beliefs, comorbidities, and other factors related to the patient. Several limitations in this review need to be considered for further research.

CONCLUSION

Medication adherence to diabetic therapy is a complex phenomenon. Most determinants produced disparate findings in terms of statistical significance. The identified factors can serve various goals related to medication adherence. Policymakers and health care providers should consider patient-related factors.

Estimating the Burden of Cancer and Treatment Cost Related to Alcohol Consumption in Indonesia: a Descriptive Study

Background: Alcohol consumption has become one of the most common cancer risk factors after smoking. Nowadays, estimation of the burden of disease attributable to alcohol has become standard in documenting the impact of health problems, but it has been rarely performed in Indonesia. The aim of this study was to estimate treatment cost of cancer related to alcohol consumption among the Indonesian population. Methods: This research design was descriptive with a prevalence-based approach using secondary data. Proportions of cancers were calculated using an alcohol-attributable fractions (AAF) formula. Treatment costs for eight types of cancer were assessed according to average treatment cost per patient from the national universal health coverage database for 2016. Result: The top three AAFs for males were cancers of the pharynx, esophagus and larynx (17.5%, 15.3% and 7.98%, respectively), while in females they were cancers of the esophagus, pharynx and stomach (2.15%; 1.39%; 0.83%). Among the eight types of cancer studied, the highest incidence in males was noted for liver cancer (132 cases) while colorectal cancer was the most common among females (31 cases). Treatment cost for cancers related to alcohol consumption were highest for colorectak cancer followed by laryngeal and liver cancer (116,083, 98,325 and 93,253 USD, respectively. Conclusion: The expenditure for treatment of cancers related to alcohol consumption accounts for about 1.71% of total cancer treatment cost. Since cancers related to alcohol consumption can be considered having an economic impact in Indonesia, it becomes important for the government to control alcohol consumption so that related healthcare expenditure can be minimized.

The Premature Mortality Cost of Cancers Attributable to Secondhand Smoking in Indonesia

Objectives: Many studies reported that secondhand smoke associated with many health problems including multiple types of cancer. Both secondhand smoking and cancer have a significant economic impact on society, especially in developing countries. To assess this economic burden, we estimated the costs of lost productivity due to premature mortality cancer attributable to secondhand smoking in Indonesia.Methods: This study used to estimating the number of premature mortality cost (PMC) of six cancers (lung, bladder, colorectal, stomach, pancreas and larynx) due to secondhand smoking in Indonesia. This research was using descriptive epidemiological prevalence-based research design, with cancers mortality data gained from Indonesian National Health Insurance (NHI) database in 2016. Results: Burden priorities for Indonesian men and women accounted for IDR 1,075 trillion by lung cancer, IDR 667 trillion by colorectal cancer and IDR 336 trillion by pancreas cancer out of total PMC IDR 2,665 trillion. We also calculated present value for total PMC which was IDR 2,512 trillion after discounted by 3%. The higher premature mortality cost in males than females reflects higher wages and rates of workforce participation.Conclusion: Lost productivity costs due to cancers related to secondhand smoking premature mortality were significant source of high economic burden in Indonesia. The result of this study may provide an alternative perspective on the cancer burden on society and to strengthen tobacco and smoke free control policy decisions.

Assessment of prevalence, knowledge and health-related practices of dysmenorrhea among Malaysian women in Kuala Lumpur: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Menstruation is a natural phenomenon considered an important indicator of women's health, reflecting their endocrine function. Women in low middle income countries face substantial menstrual hygiene management challenges. Data on the knowledge of dysmenorrhea and health-related practices among Malaysian women are scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea among Malaysian women in Kuala Lumpur and its association with socio-demographic factors, knowledge level, and general practices.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was carried out among Malaysian women in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 362 unmarried women, nulliparous and aged between 18 and 25 years old, were included in this study. Participants were conveniently recruited through online platforms as well as face to face using a self-administered questionnaire with five sections consisting of demographics, menstrual characteristics, Working ability, Location, Intensity, Days of pain, Dysmenorrhea (WaLIDD) score for diagnosing and assessing the severity of dysmenorrhea as well as an evaluation of respondents' general knowledge and practices towards dysmenorrhea. The collected data were analysed using the SPSS tool, a descriptive statistic was used to report demographic characteristics. Inferential statistics was used to report the differentiation, association, and correlations of the variables.

RESULTS

The prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was 73.2%. It was found that the majority of the respondents had poor knowledge (60%) and poor practices (61.88%) of dysmenorrhea. The most common preventive practices among the respondents were using dietary supplements, and herbs, taking a rest and exercising. The findings also indicated that dysmenorrhea among the respondents was significantly associated with family history of dysmenorrhea (p = 0.002), monthly income (p = 0.001), and knowledge level (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Dysmenorrhea has a high prevalence among women in Malaysia in Kula Lumpur driven by low knowledge and lack of evidence-based practices among these women. Thus, it is critical for Government and healthcare authorities to promote education related to women health among Malaysian women.

Prescribing Pattern of Extemporaneous Compounding in Primary Health Care Centers

OBJECTIVE: Compounding is one of basic competences and skills should be owned by pharmacists since ages. Shortage of licensed drug supply and patients with special needs had become the major reason for the compounding practice to be performed. Average of drug number given to patients in primary or government health centers in a sheet of prescription compounding was quite high; commonly it included more than one drug given individually or prescribed together. The WHO/ INRUD cores drug prescribing indicators were developed to be utilized as a measure of performance in areas related to rational use of medicine in health facilities. This study aimed to analyze prescribing pattern of extemporaneous compounding in primary health care centers. METHOD: Cross sectional survey method was employed in this study which was conducted at 24 Primary Health Care Centers in Banyumas regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia by collecting data of extemporaneous compounding from the primary health care centers having the compounding percentage &ge; 5% from total prescription of each. The researchers implemented retrospective data collection which was conducted on 1200 prescription sheets in period of April to June 2017. RESULT: The drugs used in extemporaneous compounding were 49 types, and the mostly used were chlorpheniramin maleate (22.54%), dexamethasone (18.20%), glycerol guaiacolate (15.36%), amoxicillin (9.15%) and paracetamol (7.47%). Number of drugs used in each extemporaneous compounding was various; one to six drugs per-compounding with its average 2.86 drugs per-prescription of extemporaneous compounding. Generic drugs were mostly used in extemporaneous compounding with percentage 93.88%, while percentage of antibiotic use was low; it was 11.36%. Based on conformity with national formulary in Indonesia, the proper used drug in extemporaneous compounding was 71.43 %, while based on conformity with WHO Model List Essential Medicines, it was 46.96 %. CONCLUSION: In this study, although the drug which was used in dosage form of extemporaneous compounding was still quite high with a range between 1 to 6 drugs in one dosage form, but generally the drug use in form of extemporaneous compounding in primary health care centers was still in accordance with the WHO/INRUD cores drug prescribing indicators that were characterized by high generic drugs and low use of antibiotics in the extemporaneous compounding at the primary health care centers.

Individual, Social and Psychological Characteristics of Smoking Cessation Behaviors: A Systematic Review

About two thirds of active smokers want to quit smoking, yet not many people finally succeed in smoking cessation. Smoking cessation involve complex behaviors associated with individual, social and psychological characteristics as the key factors. Our objective is to review the studies about smoking cessation behavior correlated issues in order to find effective interventions of smoking cessation program. Terms and keywords pertinent to individual, social and psychological characteristics of smoking cessation behavior were used in a search of the electronic databases. Searches were limited to English language, included papers were: a) had clearly report the predictor variables related to smoking cessation behaviors, b) exclusively represent nation/s of study population, c) the time frame for the analysis was limited from 1998 to 2018. A result of 116 individual studies were retrieved at first and reviewed. After further inspection of references from the collected studies, 9 studies were approximately selected that met all inclusion criteria. The final studies consisted of five cross-sectional study and four cohort studies, conducted from different countries. There were several characteristics related to smoking cessation behavior including on levels of nicotine dependence, self-efficacy, smoking restriction and involve other smokers environment, motivation and educational background. Adjusted interventions due to those specific behaviors are needed in order to make more effective smoking cessation programs. Therefore, this study may provide new perspective for encouraged to decrease the amount of smokers worldwide through smoking cessation program.

Pharmacy students' empathy and its determinants: a systematic review

Background: Empathy in the context of healthcare is an immersion experience to comprehend patients' viewpoints, feelings, and emotions, without passing judgment, to ensure they receive the necessary treatment to feel comfortable. Empathy for others must be possessed by healthcare professionals and healthcare students as healthcare professionals' candidates, including the pharmacy student. This study aimed to identify and assess the determinants related to pharmacy students' empathy. Methods: Three electronic databases were used for the first searches. We used peer-reviewed original papers, full text, must assess determinants that are associated with pharmacy students' empathy, and only be focused on pharmacy students (first to the fourth year) as healthcare professionals candidates. We utilized Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists to observe the quality of published publications and reduce bias. Results: This review examined 14 papers that reported on determinants connected to pharmacy students' empathy. Nine studies evaluated the association between gender or sex and the level of empathy, seven studies reported educational intervention, four studies discussed the year of study, two studies explained the type of school, four studies evaluated experience, and others determinants that discussed in the included studies were career preference, intercultural sensitivity, stigma, altruism, grit, self-awareness, marital status, and family income Conclusions: Educational intervention, experience, gender or sex, type of school, year of study, intercultural sensitivity, career preference, altruism, grit, self-awareness, marital status, and family income, can all have a positive impact on increased empathy among pharmacy students. We acknowledge that the included studies are heterogeneous, indicating that additional studies are necessary before reaching any firm conclusions. More research is needed to properly understand how empathy can be improved with the most effective pharmacy educational strategies. Higher levels of evidence are also required in studies to address the potential bias caused using self-report questionnaires, as well as other potential biases and inaccuracies.

Factors Affecting Pharmacist’s Performance Based on Motivation Theory: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: Determine factors that affect the performance of pharmacist based on motivation theory. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted to explore that affect factors an employee&#39;s performance, especially a pharmacist. Electronic databases used to identify relevant studies to the affecting factors such performance were Science Direct, PUBMED, UGM Library (Dissertation) and Google Scholar. The search terms used are &ldquo;pharmacist performance&rdquo;, &ldquo;performance-affecting factors for pharmacist&rdquo;, &ldquo;pharmacist performance optimization&rdquo;, and &ldquo;performance motivation&rdquo;. This study was limited to English and Indonesian language only and publication years from 2000 to 2016. Electronic search database found 50 articles while only six studies meet the eligibility criteria to serve as the basis for determining the performance of the pharmacist. RESULTS: Pharmacist performance was influenced by five factors: organization and environment, social order, resources owned, pharmacist characteristics, and regulation. These five variables are considered by the Alderfer ERG theory of Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. CONCLUSION: Performance for pharmacists should be emphasized with systemic supports for pharmaceutical practice changes to succeed on a wide scale and devote to producing a good performance.

Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the quality of well being self-administered questionnaire in general population in Indonesia

Background The quality of well being self-administered (QWB-SA) questionnaire is one of the generic instruments which can be used to measure the utility score to assess the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as an outcome parameter in pharmacoeconomics study. This research aimed to study the translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the QWB-SA questionnaire in Indonesian language. Methods This research was conducted among the general population of 459 people in Yogyakarta city. The translation was done using the forward-backward method by independent linguists, and then reviewed by a team consisting of linguists, methodologists, and pharmacists. The psychometric evaluations included face validity, internal-construct validity, convergent validity, and known-group validity tests, while the reliability test was the test-retest of reliability with the Spearman's rank correlation and Pearson test. Results The translation results and cultural adaptations were modified from the aspect of idiomatic, semantic and conceptual equivalence of the items on the QWB-SA questionnaire. The internal-construct validity showed a very strong and moderate correlation among dimensions and the QWB utility index. The convergent validity showed moderate-to-weak correlation compared to the Euro-quality of life-5 dimension questionnaire. The reliability test showed the Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.626, and the test-retest of reliability showed a strong and moderate correlation. Conclusions The QWB-SA questionnaire is valid and reliable, and can be used as an alternative to measure utility as a QALY's parameter in the health-economic evaluation.

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON SELF-REPORTED QUESTIONNAIRES TO ASSESS MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN DIABETIC PATIENTS

Adherence to pharmacological therapies are keys to effective treatments in diabetic patients. Previous reviews found that most adherence measurement studies on chronic diseases used a self-reported scale. However, there is no consensus on the best scale to measure adherence in diabetic patients. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the potential self-reported scale that could be considered for measuring medication adherence in diabetic patients and to provide recommendations for researchers or clinicians to determine appropriate adherence self-reported scales in diabetic patients. This review follows general guidelines in the implementation of systematic reviews. After further review, it was found that 33 studies met all inclusion criteria from 4 databases (Wiley, Science Direct, Scopus, and PubMed). The articles were done by the PRISMA, while the keywords were determined by the PICO method. Most research was conducted in Asia (69.7%) and America (18.2%) on patients with type 2 diabetes  (81.3%), patients in hospitals (54.5%), suffering for 1–6 months (54.5%), and using a cross-sectional study design (78.8%). HbA1c clinic data (57.6%) were used in most studies as biological markers of adherence. The measurement scales of medication adherence in diabetic patients are MMAS-8 (57,.5%), MMAS-4 (12.1%), BMQ (9%), MCQ (6%), ARMS (3%), ARMS-D (3%), GMAS (3%), LMAS-14 (3%), and MARS-5 (3%). This review provides information on the different self-reported scales most widely used in diabetic medication adherence research. Various aspects need to be considered before choosing the scale of adherence.